


Something of Great Importance

by LiGi



Series: Merthurweek 2020 [7]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Awesome Gwen (Merlin), Canon Era, Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Gwaine (Merlin), Established Relationship, Friendship, King Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Loyalty, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Protective Lancelot (Merlin), Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiGi/pseuds/LiGi
Summary: Merthurweek2020 Day 7Merlin shares his biggest secret with his friends.
Relationships: Elyan & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwen & Merlin (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin), Leon & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Leon & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Percival (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthurweek 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067003
Comments: 12
Kudos: 162
Collections: Merthur Week 2020





	Something of Great Importance

**Author's Note:**

> Merthurweek Day 7 - Free Day + Magic Reveal
> 
> So I decided to try and use all of the prompts again but in different ways than I did the first time. And then I realised there were eight quotes and I have eight favourite characters so I had to have them all and it just sort of grew from there… Enjoy!
> 
> The prompt quotes were:  
> "You're an idiot." "But you love me"  
> "I'm so proud of you."  
> "You're hurt. Please, just let me heal it."  
> "What are you hiding, Merlin."  
> "Any other lies left to tell me."  
> "Can I uncover my eyes yet?" "No, stop being impatient."  
> I changed them a smidge ("us" instead of "me", "we" instead of "I" etc.) but they are all in there!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Merlin fidgeted, twisting his fingers together, his eyebrows tipping down in the middle. He was chewing his lip nervously.

Arthur caught his hands and pulled them apart, lacing his fingers with his own.

“Of course it is, Merlin. All of my ideas are good ideas,” he said confidently. This hadn’t actually been his idea at all. Merlin had been the one who first brought it up, Arthur had just finalised the plan and set it in motion.

“I can name ten off the top of my head –” Merlin started, suitably distracted from his worrying. Arthur grinned, mission accomplished.

“Shut up, Merlin,” he said fondly, pressing a quick kiss on his lips.

Merlin kissed back forcefully, desperately, as if trying to sup some of Arthur’s courage into himself, his hands squeezing Arthur’s. They were both panting when they pulled back. Arthur ran his tongue over his lower lip, soothing where Merlin’s teeth had caught him.

Merlin turned to the closed doors in front of them, took a deep breath and huffed it out, letting his shoulders relax as he did so.

“I trust them,” he said with a firm nod. “I’m ready.”

“Whatever they say… remember, _I_ love you,” Arthur murmured, nudging Merlin in the ribs with his elbow. Merlin grinned goofily over his shoulder at him.

“I love you too.”

Arthur opened the door, leading Merlin into the council room with a hand on the small of his back. He took his hand away when the occupants of the room turned to look curiously at them.

Around the circular table sat Arthur’s five closest knights and Guinevere. Arthur had invited them all to join them but hadn’t told them the reason why. All were in casual dress and Arthur had forbidden the knights from bringing weapons with them.

Leon, Lancelot and Gwen all stood as Arthur came in, Percival and Elyan following a second later. Gwaine had his feet up on the table but Percival shoved them to the floor and Gwaine stood up as well. All of the knights bowed their heads to Arthur. Arthur nodded back at them, fixing his steady gaze on each one.

“My friends,” he started.

He ushered Merlin over to the seat on his right, between Lancelot’s and his own. Merlin tripped over his own feet but Lancelot caught him before he fell to the floor. Arthur tried not to frown when he noticed Merlin whispering something in Lancelot’s ear and a blinding smile spread across Lancelot’s face. He had been struggling a little with jealousy ever since Merlin told him Lancelot had already known his secret. But he kept telling himself it was good that Merlin had always had someone on his side.

He gestured for everyone to take their place; Leon at his left, then Gwen, Elyan, Gwaine, Percival and Lancelot beside Merlin. Then sat down himself, trying to subtly drag his chair a little closer to Merlin’s as he tucked it in so he could squeeze Merlin’s knee under the table.

“I have asked you all here today to discuss something of great importance. Merlin has something to tell you, to show you.” He looked over and smiled encouragingly at Merlin. Then he turned back to the rest of the table. “You may not be very happy when you hear what he has to say, but I want you all to have open minds. And know that he is doing this with my blessing. Remember that he is our friend.”

He gestured to Merlin, who rose from his seat. His mouth was twisted in a grimace but his eyes were full of steely determination. He held Arthur’s gaze for a second then opened his mouth to speak.

“I…” His voice stuck in his throat and he gulped. Lancelot gave his arm a reassuring pat. “I… Arthur–” he turned to Arthur again, panic-stricken. Arthur stood, stepping in front of Merlin as if to shield him from the other’s eyes, keeping his own eyes locked with Merlin’s.

“I believe in you,” he whispered.

“I… need a minute… I can’t…”

Arthur wrapped an arm over Merlin’s shoulders, turning him away from the table and bustling him over to the wall.

“Cover your eyes,” he said over his shoulder at the table. It was a silly request but he so wanted to kiss Merlin and he couldn’t do it if the knights were all looking curiously over at them. Sometimes there were perks to being king, and people having to follow your petty requests was one of them.

Leon and Gwen shared a look before the knight dutifully covered his eyes with one palm. Gwen placed both hands over her face and turned her head away. Lancelot buried his head in his arms on the table and Elyan yanked his hood down over his face. Gwaine was frowning, looking very much like he wanted to argue but Percival put him in a headlock and covered his eyes with one large hand, before covering his own as well.

Arthur almost laughed. Even Merlin’s worried expression quirked into a smile.

“Look at them,” Merlin said fondly. “How can I fear them?”

“You have nothing to fear, Merlin. If they are angry…” He shook his head, knowing a frown was working its way down his brow. “I won’t let them touch you.”

“I trust them, I do. I just… it still feels so wrong to say my secret out loud…”

After quickly checking the knights were all still blinded, he kissed Merlin firmly. Running a hand through his hair and squeezing the back of his neck.

“Can we uncover our eyes yet?” Elyan called, then cried out as Percival kicked him under the table.

“No, stop being impatient.” Percival’s voice was quiet and reverent. “His Majesty will tell us when we can.”

Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin. No matter how often he told Percival to call him Arthur, serious situations always made him defer to titles.

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Merlin muttered. Gwaine had started struggling against Percival’s hold as well.

Smiling at his bravery, Arthur kissed Merlin once more then led him back to the table.

“Alright, open your eyes,” he commanded.

Six pairs of eyes immediately fixed on Merlin who squirmed slightly. But Arthur noticed him rubbing his fingers together, like he did when he was preparing for a spell. He grinned and held his breath.

“What are you hiding, Merlin?” Leon asked gently, a fond yet bemused smile on his face.

Merlin brought his hands up in front of him, cupped together. He bit his lip and bowed his head over his hands, whispered the strange words and let his eyes flare golden. Arthur’s stomach flipped as he let out his held breath in a happy little gush.

“This,” Merlin said, looking up with a smile. He opened his hands and several bright gold butterflies fluttered across the table.

Their friends’ reactions were instantaneous. Lancelot’s grin grew even wider and he reached for a butterfly which settled on his finger. Leon had thrown himself away from the table, his chair legs screeching on the floor. Elyan looked to Gwen, his hand clutching her wrist in a vice like grip. Gwen herself looked like she had just had a theory confirmed, her lips pressed together as if hiding a smile.

Percival had reached for his belt, for a weapon, but he looked guilty and his hand dropped away from his belt once his eyes landed on Merlin’s face. Gwaine looked like he’d been kicked in the chest, stunned and silent and still.

“I have magic,” Merlin said simply then conjured a globe of pure silver light in one hand, tossing it gently into the air so it floated around their heads. Then he spoke more words and garlands of ivy swathed the walls around them, tiny flowers opening amongst the green leaves.

Arthur watched mesmerised as he pulled flames down from the candelabrums around the room and fashioned them into a tiny fiery dragon that flapped across the room.

“Enough, please,” Leon said. His eyes were wide and scared. Arthur had known Leon would be the hardest to convince, he had grown up in Camelot during The Purge, been raised believing magic was evil. He’d been knighted by Uther and led many raids on druids and arrested countless sorcerers.

Gwen put a hand on Leon’s arm, gently shooing away a butterfly that flew too close to him. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at Merlin though, happiness and pride clear in her expression. Elyan was still clinging to her wrist but he seemed to have noticed the look on her face and had stopped looking quite as terrified as he initially had.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin said a little shakily. He clenched his fist and the butterflies and flame dragon vanished.

Lancelot made a little disappointed noise, letting the hand that the butterfly had been perched on fall to the table. Smiling, Merlin flicked his fingers at him and another little butterfly appeared sitting on the back of his hand. Lancelot grinned. A little warily but curious nonetheless, Percival leant towards Lancelot and studied the butterfly.

“You needn’t be afraid of Merlin,” Arthur said to the table as a whole, taking in the range of expressions. “He is _good_. He uses his magic only for good. We all owe him our lives, many times over, without ever knowing it.” He put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder, barely restraining himself from throwing his arms around the warlock and kissing him. Merlin gave him a bright – if a tad shaky – smile.

“You never told us,” Gwaine said quietly. His eyebrows were drawn down in a deep frown and he wouldn’t look at Merlin.

“I couldn’t, Gwaine…” Merlin sank back into his chair, reaching across the table to Gwaine. Gwaine ignored his hand. Merlin’s eyes filled with tears and Arthur felt the sudden urge to hit Gwaine.

He stamped the selfish urge down; of course, he understood Gwaine’s reaction. He himself had wanted to shut Merlin out when he’d told him, to feel angry and betrayed and hurt. And Gwaine was Merlin’s best friend – or at least Merlin was _Gwaine’s_ best friend. He just hoped Gwaine hadn’t noticed Lancelot’s reaction and lack of surprise to the reveal, the clear indication of Merlin’s true best friend.

“I’m sorry I kept it from you,” Merlin whispered. “I understand if you’re hurt. All of you…” He looked around the table, trying to give each of their friends a smile. “Please, just let me heal it.”

Gwen leant forwards, positively beaming at Merlin.

“There’s nothing to heal, Merlin. Not with me anyway.”

Merlin’s grin could have lit up the room. It certainly lit up Arthur’s heart.

“Nor me,” Elyan said, chewing his lip, his eyes flicking from his sister to Arthur, before settling on Merlin.

“Nor me,” Percival added slowly, looking up from the butterfly he had coaxed off of Lancelot’s hand onto his own.

“You know you’ve always had me, Merlin,” Lancelot said in his quiet, steady voice, so deep with sincerity and trust. He rested his hand on Merlin’s arm again, the intensity of his gaze blazing.

Arthur gritted his teeth, forcing a smile. He would not be jealous, he told himself firmly. He looked to Leon instead, silently begging his oldest friend to be forgiving in his thoughts. Leon was frowning, clenching his fists in his tunic.

“I know you are a good man, Merlin,” Leon spoke up eventually. He sighed and looked at Merlin, his expression open, showing his confliction, his fear and loyalty warring in his mind. “If Arthur is alright with this, then so too am I.”

Arthur gripped Leon’s shoulder tight, pouring gratitude into the gesture as he nodded.

“Gwaine?” Merlin asked tentatively.

The silly thing was, out of all of them, Gwaine should have been the least worried about Merlin’s magic, having grown up in another kingdom where the practise wasn’t banned. But the weight of the secret was what held him back from acceptance. What made the tears spill down his cheeks in torrents, leaving his eyes red.

“I could never hate you, Merlin,” he rasped gruffly.

Merlin gasped out a shuddering sob. “I’m sorry I lied for so long.”

“It was a necessary lie to keep himself safe,” Arthur declared, putting authority and rationality into his voice.

He had reasoned this out to himself after Merlin had first told him – spent a whole night with Merlin banished from his rooms, pacing and ranting to the moon, listing times when something suspicious had somehow saved him, times he now knew were all Merlin. Listing things that could happen to Merlin if the wrong people had found out. Listing reasons he loved his ridiculous sorcerer manservant. By the time Merlin sheepishly knocked on the door with his breakfast in the morning, Arthur had made up his mind. Not only did he fully accept and forgive Merlin, he was also irrevocably and hopelessly in love with him.

“You have our forgiveness, and our love,” Gwen said. She rose from her seat and came around the table, cupping Merlin’s chin in her hand and lifting his face so she could place a kiss on his cheek. “I believe I speak for us all?”

The knights all nodded. Even Gwaine as he scrubbed a hand over his eyes.

“To Merlin,” Lancelot said, standing up and clapping.

Arthur immediately joined in, followed by Gwen, Percival, Elyan and finally Gwaine and Leon. They all rose to their feet, as they applauded, Gwen even stamping her daintily slippered feet. Merlin’s face flushed bright red, all the way to the tips of his ears. His eyes shone with tears and his grin spread so wide it must have made his cheeks hurt. After several long minutes, which ended with them all stamping, and clapping and thumping the table, and Elyan wolf whistling, they quietened down and slumped back into their seats. Merlin had his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably as the flames on every candle in the room danced and swirled with magical shapes.

Arthur, still standing, put an arm around Merlin’s shoulders, letting Merlin bury his face in his chest.

“This man means the world to us,” he told the others. “We should all be incredibly honoured to be his friends.”

“Hear, hear!” Lancelot shouted. Merlin lifted his head form Arthur’s shirt, wiped his eyes and beamed.

“As long as there aren’t any other lies left to tell us?” Gwaine said. It was supposed to be a joke, but there was a waspish bite behind his normally cheerful voice.

“Umm…” Merlin glanced up at Arthur. “Well, there is…”

He silently asked Arthur’s permission, he didn’t want to lie to Gwaine again. Arthur couldn’t think of a better time to tell his friends how honoured he was to be Merlin’s love.

Holding a hand out to draw Merlin to his feet, Arthur put his other hand on the back of Merlin’s neck, pulling him against his chest and kissing him soundly. He let every once of love and pride in his heart pour through the kiss into Merlin. Tugging him closer, feeling his heart beat wildly in his chest. He ran his tongue over Merlin’s lip, pulled back slightly, leant in to press another little kiss as if he couldn’t bear to stop, then pulled away completely. They grinned at each other, holding hands.

“I’m in love with this idiot,” Arthur said giddily.

Gwen’s laugh was musical as she shook her head fondly at them.

“You’re _both_ idiots,” she said.

“But you love us.” Arthur added, unable to keep the giggle out of his voice. (Chuckle, kingly chuckle, he told himself.)

“That we do, my friend.” Leon clapped Arthur on the back.

“We all now know how amazing Merlin is,” Lancelot said. “And you, Arthur, you are a great king. We’re all so proud of you both.”

“Hear, hear!” Percival, Elyan and Gwaine called loudly.

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, I have soooo many headcanons about all of the knights' reactions (Gwaine’s especially ) I couldn’t do them all justice here, but I am planning a few long fics about them in the new year…


End file.
